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Aunt Bee Taylor
Beatrice Taylor (better known as Aunt Bee) is the paternal aunt of widower Sheriff Andy Taylor and great-aunt to his son Opie Taylor. She was in every season of The Andy Griffith Show and was portrayed by Frances Bavier. History In the premier episode of The Andy Griffith Show, "The New Housekeeper," Aunt Bee returns to Mayberry after a five-year sojourn in Morgantown, West Virginia, when Andy's housekeeper Rose marries and leaves Mayberry. Aunt Bee thereafter manages the Taylor House and becomes Opie's surrogate mother and grandmother. Andy explains to Opie that he was raised by Aunt Bee and Bee later mentions, without elaboration, having raised others in the Taylor family. Bee is well-known in Mayberry for her cooking skills, a hobby she very much enjoys. In the first episode, she serves a platter of fried chicken with all the trimmings, and thereafter her character is associated with wholesome, home-cooked meals. She frequently contributes meals to community or church events and brings picnic baskets of food to Mayberry's tiny jail for Andy and Barney and even its inmates. While Aunt Bee is celebrated for her cuisine, she falls short as a pickler.The Pickle Story Andy and Barney refer to her pickles as "kerosene cucumbers." Andy is fond of her pork chops and cornbread biscuits, while Opie's favorite dish is her Homemade Apple Pie. Colored Episodes Bee undergoes some changes during the final three color years of The Andy Griffith Show. In the early years, she gives her heart to scalawags of all sorts and sometimes needs Andy's help in extricating herself from unpleasant romantic situations. Through-out the Andy Griffith Show, Aunt Bee has been strong willed when it comes to standing up for people's rights. She is pro-women's equal rights and is always standing up for the underdog. Although she is older in age, Aunt Bee has always stood her ground and for what she believed in. In the color years, Bee's suitors are respectable gentlemen and include a retired congressman, a clergyman, and a distinguished professor; quite the contrast from the black and white episodes and her swindling suitors. Bee's evolution in personality is reflected in her dress. In the show's early years, she is given to wearing comically dowdy house dresses, fruit and flower-decorated hats, and ladylike white gloves for venturing outside the house. In the color episodes, she discards her frumpy wardrobe and steps into more stylish attire. In one episode, she wore a blonde wig causing Andy much anxiety. More drastic in the evolution of the character than her taste-shift in men and her wardrobe about-face is her liberation from her homemaker role in Andy's house. In the later episodes, Bee leaves the Taylor kitchen to open her own restaurant, to host a television cooking show, to run for office, to buy a car, and to take flying lessons. Andy and Opie are sometimes left at home to prepare their own meals. In spite of her sudden spirit of independence, Bee never quite makes a complete break and continues to rely on Andy to direct the course of her life and make the difficult decisions. Aunt Bee sees Opie grow from age 6 to 14. When Andy marries his longtime girlfriend Helen Crump on the spinoff Mayberry R.F.D.Andy_and_Helen_Get_Married, she opts to give the newlyweds their own space and becomes housekeeper for farmer Sam Jones (another widowed father) and his young son Mike. Residing at the Jones's farm, Aunt Bee feeds the livestock and gathers eggs. The following year Andy and Helen move to Raleigh,North Carolina. In 1986, a made-for-television reunion movie called Return to Mayberry was broadcast on NBC. Although many original cast members reprise their roles, Frances Bavier, had since retired to Siler City, North Carolina. She was in ill health, and declined to participate in the movie. In the television movie, Andy Taylor is seen reverentially visiting Aunt Bee's grave, where another actress does the voice-over work for Frances. 'Relationships' 'Family' Aunt Bee's other relatives sometimes come up in episodes; she speaks of trimming her brother's hair when a girl and, in one episode, her sister Nora visits. She also has a rapscallion cousin called Bradford J. Taylor who features in a color episode. Bee is a teetotaler. In an episode in which a traveling salesman comes to Mayberry peddling patent medicine, Andy tells Barney that Aunt Bee is heavily against alcohol due to her brother's trouble with the bottle. (It is unclear whether this brother in meant to be Andy's father, or one of Andy's uncles.) In the same episode, Bee plays the piano and speaks of her baptism. Bee is a member of the town choir and sings in church. 'Friends' 'Bee and Clara' Aunt Bee's closest friend in Mayberry is widow Clara Edwards (Hope Summers). Although Clara is a well-meaning woman, she often proves irksome when positioning herself as Bee's rival for the attentions of the single, older gentlemen passing through Mayberry. She vies with Bee in cooking contests and flower shows and replaces her in the town pageant when Bee realizes she has no talent for theatricals. Clara and Bee attended school together as girls. They compose an anthem celebrating the good life in Mayberry and, in one episode, vacation in Mexico with their friend Myrtle. Clara is sometimes a petty and jealous woman, often ruining Bee's pleasure in one small thing or another with a dismissive sniff or an abrupt and cutting comment. 'Romances' Beginning with the second season, Aunt Bee had at least one flirtation (rarely, if ever, amounting to a true romance) per season. These flirtations added significant depth and interest to her character. In the black-and-white seasons, Bee threatened to give her heart to cads of all sorts and sometimes needed Andy's help in extricating herself from unpleasant situations. Andy was pretty smart and quick to figure out these men were nothing but charlatans; but saved Aunt Bee from having her feelings hurt. In the color years, however, Bee gained wisdom through experience. She paired herself with respectable gentlemen and managed her affairs without significant assistance from Andy. Of course there was never an implication of physical involvement. In spite of Aunt Bee's propensity for affairs of the heart and her active pursuit of elderly bachelors, she was only engaged once—to a cruise-ship captain (played by Will Geer for two episodes) during season one of Mayberry RFD. * Henry Wheeler, an itinerant handyman, uses Bee's romantic vulnerability to cadge himself free meals and shelter at the Taylors' (Second season: "Aunt Bee's Brief Encounter"). * Fred Goss, a chain-smoking dry cleaner, dates Bee when she believes her stay-at-home lifestyle inhibits Andy from pursuing his chances for dating and marrying (Second season: "Wedding Bells for Aunt Bee"). * Colonel Harvey, a traveling medicine man, sells Bee two bottles of his Indian elixir. Bee becomes tipsy on the brew and Colonel Harvey lands in jail (Third season: "Aunt Bee's Medicine Man"). * Briscoe Darling, a mountain man, becomes smitten with Aunt Bee and carries her off to his cabin in the hills. Andy rescues Bee but not before she makes Briscoe's life miserable (Fourth season: "Briscoe Declares for Aunt Bee"). * Roger Hanover is an old, out-of-town friend of Aunt Bee's. He visits Mayberry and loiters at the Taylor house, knowing Andy distrusts him, finally threatening he'll propose marriage to Bee unless Andy pays him to leave (Fifth season: "Aunt Bee's Romance"). Andy calls his bluff and tells Roger that Aunt Bee is in the Kitchen (obviously referring that he can go in and propose to her). Shortly thereafter, Aunt Bee and Roger emerge and Aunt Bee informs Andy that Roger is leaving. Roger inquires to Andy if he had ever played poker----Andy responds Yes he had and he was at one time pretty good at it. After Roger leaves, Andy asks Aunt Bee if she was upset about Roger leaving. She said that she was not, that “a little bit of Roger went a long way” (referring to his many jokes that he to,d and pulled on others). She said that when Roger had come into the kitchen to tell her he was leaving, she had been afraid that he was going to ask her to marry him. Aunt Bee said that she would be glad to get her house back into order. * Orville Hendricks is a butter-and-egg seller whom Bee pretends to be dating when, goaded by Clara, she decides Andy needs space to pursue his romance with Helen (Fifth season: "Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau"). * John Canfield, a retired Congressman, dates Aunt Bee until the two become exhausted with their whirlwind activities (Sixth season: "Aunt Bee, the Swinger"). * Reverend Leighton, a visiting pastor, is impressed with Bee and considers accepting a parish near Mayberry. Bee believes he will think less of her when he learns she wears a wig (Seventh season: "Aunt Bee's Crowning Glory"). *'Hubert St. John' is a visiting lecturer who becomes smitten with Aunt Bee because she resembles his deceased wife (Eighth season: "Aunt Bee and the Lecturer"). Appearances The Andy Griffith Show 'Season 1-' *The New Housekeeper *The Manhunt *The Guitar Player *Ellie Comes to Town *Irresistible Andy *Runaway Kid *Opie's Charity *A Feud Is a Feud *Ellie for Council *The Christmas Story *Mayberry Goes Hollywood *Those Gossipin' Men *The Beauty Contest *Andy the Marriage Counselor *Andy Saves Barney's Morale *Andy and the Gentleman Crook *Andy and Opie Housekeepers *The New Doctor *Andy Forecloses *Quiet Sam *Barney Gets His Man *The Guitar Player Returns *Bringing Up Opie 'Season 2-' *Opie and the Bully *Andy and the Woman Speeder *Mayberry Goes Bankrupt *Barney on the Rebound *Opie's Hobo Friend *Crime-Free Mayberry *The Perfect Female *Aunt Bee's Brief Encounter *The Clubmen *The Pickle Story *Sheriff Barney *The Farmer Takes a Wife *The Keeper of the Flame *Bailey's Bad Boy *The Jinx *A Medal for Opie *Barney and the Choir *The Merchant of Mayberry *Aunt Bee the Warden *Andy and Barney in the Big City *Wedding Bells for Aunt Bee *Three's a Crowd *The Bookie Barber *Cousin Virgil 'Season 3-' *Mr.McBeevee *Andy's Rich Girlfriend *Andy and Opie Bachelors *Barney Mends a Broken Heart *Floyd the Gay Deceiver *Opie's Rival *The Bed Jacket *One-Punch Opie *Man in a Hurry *High Noon in Mayberry *Andy Discovers America *Aunt Bee's Medicine Man *The Darlings Are Coming *Andy's English Valet *Barney's First Car *A Wife for Andy 'Season 4-' *Opie the Birdman *The Sermon for Today *Briscoe Declares for Aunt Bee *Gomer the House Guest *A Black Day for Mayberry *Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain *A Date for Gomer *Citizen's Arrest *Opie and His Merry Men *Andy and Opie's Pal * Aunt Bee the Crusader * Barney's Sidecar * My Fair Ernest T. Bass * Prisoner of Love *The Song Festers *Andy's Vacation * Andy Saves Gomer * Bargain Day * A Deal Is a Deal * The Fun Girls *The Return of Malcolm Merriweather * The Rumor 'Season 5-' * Barney's Physical * The Family Visit * Aunt Bee's Romance * Barney's Uniform * Opie's Fortune *Goodbye, Sheriff Taylor * The Pageant * The Darling Baby * Andy and Helen Have Their Day *Barney Fife, Realtor * Goober Takes a Car Apart * Barney Runs for Sheriff * TV or Not TV * Guest in the House * The Case of the Punch in the Nose * Opie's Newspaper * Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau * The Arrest of the Fun Girls * Opie Flunks Arithmetic * Opie and the Carnival * Banjo-Playing Deputy 'Season 6-' * Opie's Job * Andy's Rival * Aunt Bee the Swinger * The Bazaar * Off to Hollywood * The Taylors in Hollywood * The Hollywood Party * Aunt Bee on TV * The Cannon * A Man's Best Friend * Aunt Bee Takes a Job * The Church Organ * Girl-Shy * Otis the Artist * The Return of Barney Fife * The Legend of Barney Fife * Lost and Found * Aunt Bee Learns to Drive * Look Paw, I'm Dancing * The Gypsies * A Baby in the House * The Foster Lady * The Battle of Mayberry * A Singer in Town 'Season 7-' * Opie's Girlfriend * The Lodge * The Barbershop Quartet * The Ball Game * Aunt Bee's Crowning Glory * The Darling Fortune *Mind Over Matter * Politics Begin at Home * Opie Finds a Baby * Only a Rose * Goober Makes History * A New Doctor in Town * Don't Miss a Good Bet * Dinner at Eight * Barney Comes to Mayberry * Aunt Bee's Restaurant * Floyd's Barbershop * The Statue * Helen the Authoress * Goodbye Dolly * Opie's Piano Lesson * Howard the Comedian * Opie's Most Unforgettable Character * Goober's Contest 'Season 8-' * Opie's First Love * Howard the Bowler * A Trip to Mexico * Opie Steps Up in Class * Aunt Bee the Juror * The Tape Recorder * Opie's Group * Aunt Bee and the Lecturer * Andy's Investment * Aunt Bee's Cousin * Suppose Andy Gets Sick * Howard's New Life * The Mayberry Chef * The Church Benefactors * Barney Hosts a Summit Meeting * Goober Goes to an Auto Show * Aunt Bee's Big Moment * Helen's Past * Sam for Town Council * Opie and Mike * Mayberry R.F.D. Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. 'Season 4-' * A Visit from Aunt Bee Mayberry R.F.D. 'Season 1-' *Andy and Helen Get Married * The Race Horse * Help on the Farm * The Copy Machine * Sam Gets a Ticket * New Couple in Town * Aunt Bee's Cruise: Part 1 * Aunt Bee's Cruise: Part 2 * The Camper * The Pet Shop * Millie's Girlfriend * Sister Cities 'Season 2-' * Andy's Baby * Howard the Poet *Millie the Model * Palm Springs, Here We Come * Palm Springs, Here We Are * Millie and the Palm Springs Golf Pro * The New Well * Emmett and the Ring * The Mayberry Road * Millie and the Great Outdoors * The Sculptor * The Mynah Bird Gallery :Gallery of Aunt Bee Category:The Andy Griffith Show Characters Category:Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. Characters Category:Mayberry R.F.D. 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